


For one soul

by numbika



Category: Supernatural, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Angels, Best Friends, Castiel deserves this, Cool sword, Crossover, Demons, Feels, Hurt Castiel, Knights of the Cross, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-22 01:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12469968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/numbika/pseuds/numbika
Summary: Michael Carpenter would go to the end of the world to save a soul. Or evidently, even farther if necessary.





	For one soul

The castle of mirrors inside the closest amusement park. It wasn’t the strangest meeting place Harry Dresden ever had the displeasure to experience, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Michael wanted with the place. Sure, it was moderately fun in the daylight, but now it was near midnight and every shadow in front of the building promised another monster ready to jump out and take out the famous wizard. There was the ever-present danger of Red Court Vampires, the possibility of a hired killer by Marcone (Although he didn’t do anything to piss him of for a while. Something he has to remedy the next time he suspects his involvement in something.), or just a lone monstrosity with some personal grudge. He wasn’t jumpy. He refused to believe he was becoming jumpy. He was Harry Dresden for fuck sake, he is a badass wizard, not some schoolboy who watched too much horror films before going to bed. Yes, anything comes he will face it with bravery, and a copious amount of magical fire. Suddenly, as if from nothing, a big hand touched his shoulder. He emitted a harsh battle cry which at the moment might have sounded a tiny bit like a frightened yelp, but he later swore it was a battle cry, and spun around. Michael stood behind him, a faint smile playing on his lips, one of his eyebrows raised. 

 

-Sorry Harry, I didn’t want to scare you, but you were just so deep in thought. -The wizard took a couple of big breath before answering.  
-Stars and stones Michael. Next time please just raise your voice or something. I almost made you the first man visiting place due to the courtesy of the Harry Dresden private space program. -He rubbed his temples and inspected his friend. The knight wore his white cloak over his shoulders, the one with the red cross, and had Amoracchius on his side. He also had a genuine breast plate which gave out a small sheen in the moonlight. Harry in contrast wore his black leather duster, clutched his trusty staff while on his side his blasting rod hanged from his belt. He also had his revolver with him, but it was much easier to explain a passing cop why you have an oversized and carved walking stick and a matching smaller rod of wood on you, then the fact that you are walking around with an unlicensed firearm, so he hid the weapon under his duster. For your information the usual answer for the first question by the hypothetical cop is “It’s a costume. I am a wizard. Like Gandalf.” while for the second was “I…umm….eh, shit.” -Why did you call me here? -The jolliness inside the knights eyes melted like a scoop of snow in the middle of summer. They became somewhat troubled.

 

-I need to go to the Nevernever. Its knight business Harry. – The wizard frowned and removed an imaginary speck of dirt from the shoulder of his duster. The Kinghts of the Cross and their quests. They get called by some mysterious urge to a place where they are supposed to do something. As for exactly what and why, God never really explains them in detail. He is a little bit like an indecisive boss sometimes. “You absolutely have to be here by 9 to do….something.”  
-That explains why you asked me to bring my toys. And why did I had to be here in such a short notice. – Harry raised a little sport bag. It contained various magical accessories, including birthday candles, plastic cups, holy water, ghost dust, salt, chalk, and half a dozen other things. If the shit hit the fan somewhere and Harry didn’t have time to pack, or didn’t know what he will face exactly, he just grabbed the bag. It saved his life more than a couple of times already.  
-Yes, and I am thankful that you were able to come. It is a mission of outmost importance. – The wizard blinked cautiously. Michael looked deadly serious, it must have been something really big.  
-Is it the Denarians again? – The knight shook his head.  
-Fortunately not. It is about a soul I have to save. I don’t have time to explain Harry, we may be already too late. I don’t ask you to come with me. It is more than enough if you open me the way to the Nevernever, and then once more when we are inside. You don’t have to came with me all the way trough. – Harry looked at him and then sighed.  
-Are you contractually obligated as a Knight of the Cross to say stupid things? I will come with you Michael because you are my friend and because you would do the same for me. Oh, and also because I know that if its about a soul, you would do some seriously crazy stunts to help, and if you managed to kill yourself and I am not there to help, Charity will eat my liver with beans. Like Hannibal Lecter. – Harry made a slurping sound and Michael gave the wizard a sheepish half-smile.  
-She would never do that.  
-Off course not, but she WOULD kill me. So let’s get our mighty asses moving to wherever you have to go. – The knight nodded and stepped inside the mirror maze. He made a couple of purposeful steps, and stopped in front of a traditional funhouse mirror. It made the onlooker slightly distorted. For example, Harry with his huge black duster, and magical staff, ended up looking like a hunched old man with a walking cane.  
-This is the place. Please open the door. -The wizard nodded and did so.

\---

It was a decidedly fucked up place, even within the standards of the Nevernever. Harry and Michael stepped into a patch of green grass, approximately two square meters in size which was a part in a much bigger pattern. It was bordered by 4 other patches, these showing the blue sky, and held the promise of falling forever. The sky-patches were bordered with another patch of grass, creating something that looked like a checkerboard. When Harry looked up, he encountered with the same pattern only in reverse. They stood in a grass tile, so above them were a sky tile, bordered by 4 grass tiles. 

-This place is…-The wizard couldn’t really articulate it. It was just plain wrong. He could feel the energies of the Nevernever twist and turn around each other. They were mixed with the energy from somewhere else. It was similar and yet different. If he could touch the feeling, it would be same as the subtle difference between real leather and artificial one. Except, that both type of energy was real, he was certain of that. Just different…Manufacture maybe? - Is weird as hell.  
-It IS the Nevernever Harry. -Said Michael with a smile, and Harry had the sudden urge to start tickling the man like they were some schoolchildren. It was a profoundly disturbing feeling, especially since he never really had that close friends during his youth. It was probably the side effect if the swirling energies. – Come…There. -Before the wizard could yell out in surprise, the Knight stepped into the sky tile. To the wizard total shock, he just simply flipped over and fall on his ass in on another grass tile above them. He grunted a little bit before standing up. He dusted of his trousers and looked down to his friend with a waiting expression.  
\- Hells bells, if you would only be half as good as a friend as you are, I would leave you here right now. – Grumbled the Wizard and stepped through the border of the grass patch.

He instantly felt the gravity changing, flipping him around. And a couple of second later found himself in the arms of the Knight. Michael politely put him down.  
-You will never talk about this to anyone. -Said the Wizard with more than visible embarrassment. The knight just shrugged.  
-Sure Harry. If you don’t tell anyone that I fell on my ass. – The Wizard considered this. It would have been one hell of a story to tell Murphy or Molly, hell even to Charity. The heroic Knight of the Cross falling like a bucket of rocks, right onto his arse. But he falling onto the hands of said Knight after that in a bridal carry position…Well that was a much more embarrassing little anecdote. All in all, Michael was fair as ever.  
\- Oh, all right. Spoilsport. So why are we in this topsy-turvy place? I feel like I am in a seriously botched Alice in Wonderland remake.  
-Open a gate back, right here please. -Pointed Michael towards the middle of the otherwise entirely unremarkable patch of grass. Harry decided not to ask why, considering the nature of the quest given to the Knights of The Cross, it was entirely possible that his friend had about as much idea about it as he. He sighed and again, did as his friend asked him.

\---

When they stepped through Harry realized something right away. It wasn’t the normal transition. It felt fundamentally different. Normally it was more like diving into a pool and feeling the warm soft air changing into cold and heavier water. What he felt now was like being in vacuum for a couple of seconds before getting kicked back into a bowl of porridge. The place looked like the real world all right. The up was up and the down were down. The trees weren’t made of candy, or blood or just simply pure nightmares, and there was no trace of the lingering magical touch of the fairy, which could be felt in most easily accessible places in the Nevernever. It had to be the real world. Then why was it so wrong? Harry shuddered, and felt sweat forming on the back of his neck. The magic, the magic was different here. He felt it, it could be used the same way, but only in the sense that technically one can use a big enough wrench as a hammer, but you can’t deny that it’s not its intended function. 

 

-Harry? - Asked slowly Michael with almost palpable concern in his voice.  
-It’s wrong. This place is…-Harry looked around. They were in a small clearing in the woods. Around them normal looking trees and shrubs, a couple of meters away a small squirrel watched them curiously. -…not right Michael, I don’t know why.  
-I know Harry. It’s different. Come. -The knight lightly tapped his friends shoulder and started walking in a brisk pace. The wizard decided to follow him. He wasn’t going to stay alone here. It was not like this place felt evill, or particularly dangerous, just wrong. Like, finding a squid in your morning cereal wrong. – This is, I believe the correct term is another world. Another physical reality. -The wizard looked around, they were heading towards a small path.  
-How do you know about this?  
-I had a revelation tonight. An angel came to me in my dreams. God found this world drifting seemingly aimlessly in…Somewhere. The angel tried to make me understand but I doubt a mortal mind can no matter how she tried to dumb it down for me. Apparently, this world was abandoned by its creator. -Murmured Michael with clear sorrow in his voice. It must have been a horrible notion for him. The knight was the embodiment of a good pious man. There were many people who claimed to follow the teachings of Christ, Michael lived it. He loved his neighbours, he helped the poor, the lost, he never judged others. He was just simply good. And his faith was as strong as a planet made out of pure titanium. He knew that God loved them, that he had a plan for all of them. To imagine a world where it wasn’t the case…It must have been a nightmare for him. 

 

-There is more than one God? Like I know there is more than one god, but GOD, with capital letters. – Michael stopped gritting his teeth. Harry could hear it even for a couple of steps away. Ouch, even Jaws from the James Bond films would have problems to recreate that.  
-No there is not. Based on what the Angel told me, although it is not my place to judge, but I don’t think the creator of this place deserve to be called as such. God is caring, God watches over me and my family. God leads me where I need to go to help people, God gave me Amoracchius to protect the innocent and fight the rising darkness. Everything I ever achieved was due to the Almighty’s guidance. God would never abandon us to this fate. – Harry decided to stay silent. He wasn’t a pious person, he believed in magic. But he also believed in Michael. The man obviously had something watching over his shoulders, and thanks to that Harry got to keep his head on his shoulders, since the knight saved him more than a couple of times.  
-So, are there more worlds connected to the Nevernever? I never heard of them before. -Michael shook his head.  
-I don’t know. I don’t believe there are more. If I got It clearly, God basically decided to start watching over this world too, so he used the Nevernever to make the connection. It was basically designed to be an intermediary place anyway.  
-Why? Why would God do something like that? I thought the big guy had its hands full with our old Earth. – Michael gave him a little shrug, the path started to slowly turn.  
-It is not my place to ask or speculate. But I believe it was compassion. There is so much suffering in this world. Even more than in ours. There are angels killing each other Harry. Angels hating humans, abusing them… - Now it was Harrys turn to shudder. An angel was a serious heavy hitter. If one turns bad and decided to ignore the rule to not act directly on the world, it could comfortably level Chicago as a pleasant afternoon activity.  
-Yeah, I get it. No wonder this place feels like the cave on Dagobah. – Michael shook his head slowly.  
-I don’t know about that. We are here to save one of the Angels responsible for numerous acts of destruction.  
-What?! -Harry had a couple of similarly well thought out remarks in his repertoire but the knight stopped in the edge of a small clearing. 

 

It was full of people. A group of sixteen, man and woman in various ages and in civilian clothes surrounded a lone man. Their target looked like a passable impression of the protagonist from every noir detective story ever written. He had short and unkempt black hair, wore a dirty trench coat with bloodstains on it and a loosely hanging blue tie around his neck. He wielded a small blade in his right hand which had a strange silvery sheen to it, his left hand appeared to be damaged, slowly dripping blood into the grass. There was already at least five dead combatants around him. He was most likely ambushed a couple of minutes ago but managed to repel the initial assault killing five of his attackers, but not without suffering a serious injury on his hand. His would-be murderers slowly circled around him, waiting for the opportunity to strike again, and this time, overwhelm him. Some of them wielded the same type of blade in their hands, others were entirely unarmed. Harry felt something around them, a palpable darkness, even without touching them. They were not ordinary man. He was about to relay this to Michael, but the knight apparently already noticed this. Amoracchius flew out of its sheet. The blade instantly flared up with a blue radiance, it was strong enough to outshine the sun.

 

-“Lava quod est sordium! In nomine Dei, sana quod est saucium!” -Cried out Michael, and the Knight of the Cross charged into battle. The effect was incredible. When he finished his battle cry the blade flared even brighter, blinding Harry for a second or two. The group surrounding the man in the trench coat started to howl in pure agony. They fell into their knees, spasming from apparent pain. Then they started to gag and vomit. Thick viscous smoke erupted from their throats towards the sky. Michael reached the first three man standing relatively close together and swung his blade towards the smoke. They shrieked with pain and burned up as if somebody lit a cloud of gunpowder dust. The smoke from the other bodies tried to burrow into the ground with a sudden sharp turn.  
-Oh no you don’t. – Snarled Harry and thrusted his staff forward. - Ventas cyclis!- All around the group the magic swirled and sudden powerful gusts of air erupted rom nothing. The oily black smoke clouds were slapped together by the force of the raging air, forcing them into the same place, the centre of a really small, but still powerful tornado. Michael rushed forward again, Amoracchius glowing with divine power, and fell upon the darkness like the fist of God he was. The sword flared again and again, and shrugging of the raging tempest, it slew every single one of the smoke clouds trapped within the vortex of air. Harry slowly breathed out, and with a little bit of effort he dispersed the magic. It took a lot out of him, but fortunately this was one of those rare occasions when he started flinging serious magic relatively well rested and healthy. He glanced towards the man in a trench coat who was now on his knees, shielding his eyes from the light of Amoracchius. He slowly lowered his hand as Michael sheeted the blade and turned towards him.

 

-Who…who are you? – Asked the noir looking stranger. Michael stepped towards the man and knelt down in front of him.  
-Just a messenger and a friend.  
-A messenger from who? -Asked the man with astonishment dancing in his tired blue eyes.  
-God. Or more precisely from an archangel. – The stranger gave out a small bitter laugh.  
-Father has left us already. He left me. There is no archangel who would send you to help me. You are delusional.  
-I am not talking about the one that created this universe. Your world has changed in the last couple of days, haven’t you felt it? -The stranger swallowed, and gave him a tired nod. -The angel spoke to me and composed his message thusly: “Come to me my brother from a different land. Come to me, come under my roof and sit at my table. Eat my food, help me tend to my fields, enjoy the warmth of my hearth. You will be the brother among my brothers and sisters, you will be the son of my father. Come to him, Castiel.” –When he spoke the last words, Michael placed his hand on the stranger’s shoulder. The man, apparently Castiel, shuddered.  
-I... how, and why? I done so many horrible things. You don’t know me…I don’t deserve this. -Michael smiled, slowly and warmly.  
-Everybody deserve forgiveness Castiel. Everybody. – The knight spoke with so much conviction that the man’s eye dwelled up with tears.  
-Even me? But you don’t even know what I did…  
-I don’t need to. It is more than enough that you crave forgiveness. He will give it to you. And the angels are not the only ones whose house are open to you in your time of need. My name is Michael Carpenter, and as the angel said, so will I. You can come under my roof and sit at my table, you will be treated like family. – Castiel was openly crying now, his head hung down. The knight hugged the man, like one hugs his own brother. - You don’t have to be in pain anymore. We have a place for you. -Then…I will go. - Mumbled the trench coat wearing guy under his sobs. They remained there, the man crying his heart out, Michael keeping him in his embrace. Harry sighed a little, watching the two interact. The craziest part in this whole thing was not the bit about another world, or the evil black clouds, not even an angel crying his heart out, but the fact that Michael has meant all of it. He would let the man stay with him and would treat him like a brother, and all he would ask for exchange is that he wouldn’t harm his family, or any innocent. Michael Carpenter was truly an honest and good friend. And if anybody, it looked like this Castiel bloke needed some good friends. Harry gave out another small sigh, not an entirely unhappy one, and let them be for a couple of minutes. He really could endure the wrongness of this world for a little bit more if it’s necessary. For the sake of one soul.


End file.
